ARMM to pursue P206 M agri-development projects in 2010

Cotabato City - The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) will be pursuing diverse agricultural development projects amounting to P206-million this year under the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

MRDP is a long-term poverty alleviation program of the national government through the Department of Agriculture (DA), funded from a loan from the World Bank and equity from Local Government Units (LGUs).

The project is now on the third year of the second phase of its implementation, which started in 2007, and will run for five years.

This year, a total of P2 billion worth of projects, which include the construction of farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities and other infrastructures, have been targeted by different regions across Mindanao with ARMM posting the highest target of P206 million, according to the DA.

These infrastructures are expected to improve the lives of thousands of farmers and increase farm production.

DAF-ARMM Secretary Lomala Balindong said the region excelled in the implementation of the Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD), a component program of the MRDP, in a recent assessment overseen by the World Bank.

Sixty percent of the target projects under this component have already been completed while the remaining 40% are now being undertaken, he said.

He said CFAD has benefitted a total of 3,362 farmers all over the region with the completion of 55 out of the 71 community sub-projects amounting to P18 million and the ongoing implementation of 8 others.

Balindong said lined-up projects for this year are intended to provide farmers and fisherfolks in the region with long-lasting support in the improvement of their harvests and living condition. (bpiarmm)